Many utility vehicles, such as pickup trucks, have open beds in which articles are stored. When articles are left open in these beds, either during driving or while the vehicle is parked, these items are exposed to the weather and/or the possibility of theft or loss. Furthermore, due to the motions while driving, articles tend to shift and scatter in the bed which causes inconvenience in retrieving the articles or can potentially break the articles. For one example, groceries stored near the tailgate of such a utility vehicle are frequently scattered throughout the bed and/or broken by the time the vehicle reaches its destination. Similarly, when small articles are stored, such as tools, nails, fishing lures or the like, these items tend to become mixed or lost and must then be retrieved and sorted. Accordingly, there is a need for protecting articles in the bed of a utility vehicle from exposure or loss and for minimizing the movement of articles within the bed.
One approach to these problems is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,355 to Gosnell, et al. Gosnell illustrates a partition for a bed of a utility vehicle. Gosnell's partition includes latch bars at the top of the partition which engage openings in side rails mounted on the utility bed. Gosnell's partition separates the bed of the utility vehicle but fails to protect items in the bed from exposure, theft or loss and requires the additional installation of side rails with openings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,646 to McIntyre illustrates a similar system to Gosnell's with a handle which extends locking pins into mounted side rails.
An alternate design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,972 to Frazier, et al. Frazier's design includes a space organizer for truck bed which has a backboard and at least two wing-like partition members, which divide the beds into cells. Frazier additionally suggests that lids may be used to cover partitioned cells of the bed.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved utility bed divider and storage unit. The present invention addresses these needs.